The cave was deep within the Forest of the Moon, hidden behind a dense thicket of ferns. Even before approaching, a strong stench of blood mixed with the smell of decay filled the air, making it difficult to open one's eyes. Several villagers' corpses lay scattered at the cave entrance, their deaths exactly as described by the ninja scout: shriveled skin, bluish faces, and two small bloody holes in their necks.
"There's something even scarier inside," the ninja leading the way said, pointing deep into the cave, his voice trembling. "I peeked inside while invisible, and there was something... hanging from the cave ceiling."
Tsubasa lit a fluorescent talisman, which floated ahead to guide the way, illuminating the dark cave. The further they went, the stronger the stench of blood became, and the cave walls were covered with scratch marks, as if they had been forcibly dug out by something sharp. At the end, the fluorescent talisman suddenly exploded with a "pop," and a dark shadow swooped down from the cave ceiling, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound!
"Watch out!" Nawaki Super Kage Level being, drew his sword and slashed. The blade struck the dark figure with a crisp "clang," as if it had struck a block of iron. The dark figure was jolted back and landed on the ground, whereupon they could see its appearance clearly—over two meters tall, with bluish-black skin, wrapped in tattered strips of cloth, black claws at the tips of its fingers, and murky red eyes, staring intently at them.
"This is actually a black zombie!" Tsubasa pulled out several yellow talismans from his sleeve, lit them, and threw them around to illuminate the entire cave. "You guys deal with him, but don't get hurt! Corpse poison is also a troublesome thing to treat!"
The words had barely left its mouth when the black zombie suddenly roared and leaped more than three meters into the air, its claws reaching for the nearest Jonin. The ninja reacted swiftly, dodging with a Body Flicker Technique, his hands Hand Seals: " Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The wind blades whistled as they crashed into the black zombie, but it was like hitting steel; they didn't even break through its defenses. When the black zombie landed, its knees actually bent slightly, and then it shot out like an arrow, slamming its claw into the rock wall, sending rubble crashing down.
"Goodness, this speed is much faster than ordinary black zombies. Could it be that the zombies in the Shinobi World are stronger?" Tsubasa analyzed the zombie's abilities and potential value with a puzzled expression.
Nawaki charged forward with his knife, and in the instant the black zombie turned around, he slashed it across the back of the neck. "Die!"
A flash of light, and the black zombie's neck clanged with a metallic sound. However, the black zombie was completely unharmed. Instead, it suddenly pounced on Nawaki with incredible speed.
Nawaki dodged with Body Flicker Technique, Tsubasa moved at that moment. He took out a sealing talisman from his spatial ring and struck the black zombie on the head.
The black zombie froze on the spot, its body trembling violently, but it couldn't move at all. Nawaki and the others were dumbfounded. The monster that was just a moment ago so ferocious was actually immobilized by a single talisman?
"This sealing talisman... is it really that effective?" Nawaki leaned closer and carefully poked the black zombie's arm, which was as hard as a rock.
"Ordinary sealing talismans didn't work; we need to use Senjutsu to enhance them," Tsubasa clapped his hands, about to speak, when suddenly his expression changed, "Not good!"
Suddenly, black smoke billowed from the rune paper on the black zombie's head, and it burned a hole with a "hiss"! It turned its head sharply, a strange light flashing in its red eyes, and roared as it pounced on Tsubasa. This time, it was twice as fast as before, and its claws were covered with a layer of black mist!
" The Immortal Venerable Venerable's runes have been broken by it?" several ninjas exclaimed.
"It's not a broken talisman, it's actually evolving! Some kind of energy is affecting it." Tsubasa leaped backward, easily dodging the claws, and Hand Seals with his fingertips, " Senjutsu: Whirlwind Slash!"
The blue wind blade, accompanied by a whistling sound, slammed into the black zombie's chest. This time, it finally had an effect. The black zombie was forced back a few steps, and a dent appeared in its chest, but instead of bleeding, it made a "sizzling" sound as the wound slowly healed!
"This thing can heal itself?" Nawaki stared in disbelief.
"Don't just stand there, use Fire Style to burn it!" Tsubasa shouted, then took out a rune sword from his spatial ring and pierced the black zombie's head with a flying sword. The black zombie let out a painful roar, and its movements slowed down noticeably.
The Nawaki Squad ninjas finally reacted and quickly Hand Seals: " Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
The massive fireball slammed into the black zombie. This time, it couldn't dodge and was burned with a crackling sound. The strips of cloth covering its body instantly turned to ash, and its skin began to char. It rolled frantically on the ground, trying to put out the fire, but it couldn't extinguish it no matter what it did.
Just then, a violent tremor suddenly came from outside the cave, as if something huge was approaching. Tsubasa's heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to tell everyone to retreat, the light at the cave entrance was suddenly blocked, and a dark shadow enveloped the entire cave.
He looked up and gasped – standing outside the cave was a zombie even taller than the black zombie from before, with a pair of membranous wings on its back, like bat wings, slowly flapping and stirring up gusts of eerie wind. Even more terrifying, its eyes were golden, looking down into the cave, a cruel smirk seemingly playing on its lips.
"Flying... Flying Zombie?" Tsubasa murmured. This was a formidable character two levels higher than the Black Zombie. In the legends of his previous life, he could fly and burrow underground, and he could also cast spells.
The Flying Zombie suddenly opened its mouth, and a black energy arrow shot in. Tsubasa quickly tilted his head, and the energy arrow grazed Tsubasa ear, striking the rock wall and blasting a large hole! Amidst the flying debris, Tsubasa grabbed Nawaki and ran away. "You guys retreat back to Konoha first! You can't handle this thing! I'll deal with it."
The Nawaki Squad rushed out of the cave at top speed. As soon as they reached the forest, they heard the sounds of fierce fighting coming from inside the cave. Out of curiosity, they turned back to look and saw the Flying Zombie spread its wings and fly out of the cave. Its golden eyes swept over them, but it did not chase after them. Instead, it suddenly turned into the depths of the forest and let out a sharp roar.
"It's not here to chase us? Is it running for its life?!" Nawaki gasped for breath, while the other ninjas looked equally puzzled.
At this moment, Tsubasa also flew out of the cave. He had just fought several rounds with the Flying Zombie speed, and he had only managed to gain a slight advantage. It should be noted that Tsubasa was now at the peak of the Golden Core Peak Immortal Venerable Level.
Tsubasa frowned, looking in the direction the Flying Zombie had gone. The air there seemed to be distorted, and there was a faint fluctuation of the Power of All Creation, which was very familiar—it seemed to be the aura of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
"I'll follow them and see what happens. Be careful," Tsubasa transmitted to the Nawaki Squad hiding in the distance, then sped off in the direction the Flying Zombie had fled.
Nawaki led the group into the woods, using the dense foliage as cover, and chased after them from a distance.
Both the Flying Zombie and the Tsubasa flew very fast, the sound of their membrane wings flapping exceptionally clear in the silent forest. After chasing for about ten minutes, a loud bang suddenly came from ahead, as if two mountains had collided. Nawaki signaled everyone to stop, then quietly followed and climbed up a large tree, parting the leaves to look into the distance.
Tsubasa stood atop a distant mountain, while in a clearing in the forest, Flying Zombie was fighting a man. The man wore a long black robe and had a pair of curved horns on his head; he was clearly not a normal human.
Tsubasa was pleasantly surprised on the mountaintop. The one fighting below was Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, whom he had been searching for! He held a black staff in his hand, surrounded by purple Chakra, and occasionally Teuchi a spatial rift, trying to trap the Flying Zombie.
But the Flying Zombie was more agile than him, dodging the spatial rift with a flap of its wings, and condensing red flames on its claws before hurling it at Isshiki. Isshiki sneered, raising his hand to Hand Seals: " Daikokuten!"
A black vortex appeared before him, sucking in the flames. Then the vortex vanished, and the flames reappeared behind the Flying Zombie, hissing as they burned. The Flying Zombie turned around and roared, flapping its wings and unleashing countless wind blades that shot towards Isshiki Shi at an almost imperceptible speed.
" Sukunahikona!" With Isshiki his staff, the wind blades suddenly shrank to a tiny size, falling to the ground like dust. Just as he was about to press his advantage, the Flying Zombie suddenly opened its mouth, and an invisible suction force came from it. The ground beneath Isshiki's feet began to crack, and his body involuntarily leaned forward.
"Hmph, a mere trick," Isshiki's eyes turned cold, and several spatial portals suddenly appeared around him. The next second, he appeared behind the Flying Zombie, his staff thrusting towards its back. " Sealing Cauldron!"
A small golden cauldron flew out, growing larger and larger as it descended upon the Flying Zombie. But the Flying Zombie seemed to have eyes in the back of its head; it suddenly turned around, its claws slamming into the golden cauldron with a loud "clang." The cauldron was deformed by the impact and flew back, smashing into Isshiki's chest.
Isshiki let out a muffled groan, staggering back a few steps, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth. He wiped the blood away, a hint of greed creeping into his eyes as he looked at the Flying Zombie: "Not bad a body, stronger than any I've seen before... If only I could have it..."